One Action can Change Everything
by Mandorebel2
Summary: (Title may change) Old Republic AU. Jedi. Mandalorians. Two factions that have remained rivals throughout the many centuries of the galactic wars this galaxy has endured. And now in the Great Galactic War, little did one Jedi and one Mandalorian know that all was going to change for both of them thanks to only one unexpected decision that will change Mando Jedi relations forever.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys. This is my first Old Republic AU, and this is inspired by a similar story by Paul Andrew Young. Shout out to him and "Falling For The Enemy." Without further adieu, enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Mandalorian Entanglements**

It has been many years, and already the war between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire did not look like it was going to end anytime sooner. In fact, most of the galaxy believed that this was going to be a stalemate for a long time according to the outcome of things; Republic and Imperial forces fighting across the galaxy like the darkness and the light with no signs of either side giving up. Even with the support of various factions on both sides, barely little to no progress was being made. Most of the time, both sides were interested in securing various planets for their sides, only to fight it out for days on end with battles raging on for days. The Republic and Empire were not going to let that happen to their interests in their territories. Balmorra was no different.

Due to the planet's well known reputation for advanced droid and weapons manufacturing, the Empire knew they had to make a move on it. However, the Republic was aware of this potential in the past week, and so began the battle for it. For those few days Balmorra was a war zone, with ground forces controlling several different sections of that planet, fighting for control of its resources and for galactic territory. Neither side was successful in securing it. The Republic needed backup, and so the "diplomats" were dispatched.

Arriving at a station orbiting Balmorra to get transported to the planet's surface, Jedi Knights Caleb "Kanan" Dume and Ezra Bridger exited their ship once they docked with it. Kanan wore traditional brown robes draped over his shoulders while the robes underneath were dark green. He wore gray pants and black boots. He also had dark brown hair in a pony tail, a goatee, and green eyes.

As for Ezra, the only 17 year old wore the same brown cloak that Kanan had over his shoulders, except the robes underneath were orange. As for the tunic, it was yellow. He wore brown pants and black boots. The only reason for the younger Knight to wear the colors he'd chosen was because he wanted to change into something that was more of his color once he was knighted by the council. Kanan convinced him to keep the regular boots and pants, and Ezra did just that. A native of Lothal, he had dark raven hair in a buzz cut and blue eyes.

The two of them made their way down the halls, meeting up with a protocol droid. "You must be the diplomats." it said. "This way please." It gestured for them to follow it and the two Jedi did. They followed the silver droid to a conference room, taking their seats. "My people will be with you two shortly." it said before walking away. The Jedi removed their cloaks.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Ezra questioned, making his old master chuckle.

"You always did." he replied, making his former apprentice role his eyes. At that moment, an imperial walked into the room. He wore a standard imperial uniform. He was blonde and he had two muttonchops on the side of his face, and brown eyes.

"Thank god you two made it." the imperial said.

"Kallus, do you have the intel?" Kanan asked him. Kallus was their inside man, going by the code name "Fulcrum." Though an imperial, he secretly defected at one point, becoming the Republic's inside man. He was always extremely careful about his new secret identity. If the Empire found out about him, he would have been slaughtered on the dot. With that, Kallus had to be secretive and make sure no one was watching or listening.

"I do." Kallus answered, inserting a code cylinder into a code cylinder drive somewhere at their table, a hologram of a map popping up. "The south east quadrant has severe pockets of imperial troops and droids. The target is an imperial weapons factory located 15 miles southwest of this settlement." Kallus said, pointing to it. "We destroy it, that'll be less weapons on their end. I have prepped your transport."

"Thank you, Fulcrum." Ezra replied. The two Jedi got up, when suddenly, the door blew open. Kallus groaned as he got caught up in the explosion, Fulcrum going fully offline that time. The Jedi quickly got up and drew their lightsabers, Kanan's blue and Ezra's green.

"Open fire!" An imperial trooper yelled, the squad opening fire on them. They deflected their attacks swiftly, the bolts going back into them. Their attackers dropped dead.

"Let's go, come on!" Kanan ordered, the two knights heading down the corridor, deflecting the blasts of and slashing away at their enemies when any came their way. After a while of being on the move, they finally found the transport that Kallus told them about. However, there was something seriously odd. Nobody was here, but they had a feeling that somebody was. "Keep your guard up." Kanan told his old apprentice. Ezra nodded. They took a few steps towards it, until a voice called out in the distance.

 _"Cease hostility, Jedi!"_ The voice was female. Their lightsabers up, the two Jedi circled around the area back to back, looking for their potential attacker.

"Show yourself!" Ezra retorted. Kanan sighed mentally. Sometimes his former apprentice acted reckless, and still does sometimes to this day. When does the kid ever learn?

A loud thud sounded off, then another. They looked behind them, meeting their attackers.

Mandalorians.

Out of all people in the galaxy, Mandalorians were trusted as mercenaries for the Empire. They allied themselves with them due to their warrior reputation and the fact that the war time was the perfect opportunity to make some credits. Not to mention, their hate for the Republic and the Jedi Order as a whole.

"Come to die a warrior's death, haven't you, because we will grant you one." the male said. He wore white armor with a unique visor. He pulled out a blade, twirling it before gripping it firmly, assuming a defense stance. The female in pink armor, a rather rare color for a Mandalorian out of all people especially, pulled one out also. Ezra and Kanan removed their cloaks and assumed their defense stances. The four opponents glared at one another, waiting for the first one to strike.

The male came at Ezra while the female came at Kanan. Both came at the Jedi with their jetpacks. While Kanan dodged the pink one thanks to the force, the male went into Ezra. He took the Jedi into a wall, the young Jedi groaning at the pain. He force pushed him back and then came at him with his lightsaber, striking at his head, the Mando blocking it. Ezra's eyes widened when he realized that his sword was a cortosis blade, a material known for withstanding lightsaber strikes. The Mando smirked underneath his visor. "What's the problem, kid? Surprised to see a cortosis blade?" he taunted. Big mistake.

Ezra, with a grunt, kicked him with a back kick in the stomach and then came at him with saber, trying to jab it into his body. The Mando blocked and then began to come at the Jedi with more hits until they locked blades. Ezra broke the lock thanks to an opening with a kick to the Mando's nuts, the male groaning as he fell to the floor. Ezra pointed the tip at his face, kicking the blade to the side. "You're done for." Ezra said, lifting his head up slightly to see that Kanan and the female were locked in a blade lock.

"Ezra, help me out!" Kanan called out to him. Ezra leaped to his master's aid with the force, the male Mandalorian seeing that his partner was gonna be done for unless he reacted. Using his jetpack, he came at Kanan, taking him into a wall and punching him repeatedly in the face. Kanan headbutted him and kicked him in the stomach, coming at him with strikes. He blocked the older Jedi's attacks and then Kanan did the same thing when the Mandalorian came at him with heavy strikes, grunting as he threw each one. They two of them exchanged heavy blows.

As this was happening, Ezra and the pink Mando were engaged in heated combat. The female put up a good fight, Ezra couldn't deny that. The two of them locked blades. "Y'know, kid, you're not the first Jedi I've killed. And you won't be the last."

"Oh yeah? You fight like a girl." he taunted, kicking her in the stomach and then force pushing her to the ground before kicking her in the face. That taunt was a huge mistake. Catching him off guard, she released a lasso-like gadget from her tool set from her wrist gauntlets, lassoing his body. She yanked him towards her and then repeatedly punched him in the face, grunting and shouting Mandalorian cuss words as she beat the living tar out him. His face began to show bloodiness and he suffered brutal cuts to it. She felt like he suffered enough punches, and then grabbed his wrist. Using another gadget, she tazed the Jedi. Ezra cried out in pain, and then yelled even louder when the pain increased.

"That's it, beg for your master!" she told him. The pain was so bad on Ezra's end that he couldn't utter a single word to Kanan, except moan, groan, and scream in pain as the pain increased even more, to the point of near death until she tuned it down. She didn't want to kill him. Not yet. Ezra lost consciousness from the pain, closing his eyes as he lay there. The Mando smiled to herself underneath her helmet, waiting on her partner to deal with his Jedi.

However, while Kanan heard everything, it was not going well for him either. He and his opponent were both going at it so hard that their bodies got even more tired each time. However, the male Mandalorian may have been tired, but he had enough energy in him left to perform one last maneuver. Locking blades with his Jedi opponent, the Mandalorian grabbed his wrist and then tazed him, just like how she did with Ezra. Kanan groaned and then yelled in pain, and then screamed in pain even more. He increased the intensity to the point where Kanan almost also died. His consciousness gave out and Kanan lay there as well. Satisfied with how that went, the Mandalorians looked at each other.

 _"Good job, Sabine."_ the male said in Mando'a.

 _"You did good today, my brother."_ she replied, also in Mando'a.

 _"Now, we follow through on our orders. Get those Jedi."_

 _"I'd rather kill those dogs now."_

 _"Sister, you know that we are getting paid big by the Empire just by doing this. As soon as we bring them to the loyalist camp, we receive our payment, and then we... we can have plenty of fun getting to know them."_ Sabine's brother put a huge emphasis on those last couple of words, making Sabine smirk underneath her helmet. Boy, was she going to have fun taking care of the younger Jedi.

 _"Yes, indeed, Tristan. Let's go."_ Sabine replied. Sabine dragged Ezra's body back to the ship that the Jedi were supposed to use for transport, an imperial Mark VI Supremacy-class starfighter. Tristan took care of Kanan's body, placing both of them in the hold of their ship as the siblings got to their cockpit. Sabine sat in the pilot's seat and then they were on their way down to the surface.

An hour later, the Mandalorians arrived at their loyalist camp on Balmorra, loyalists taking care of their bodies. _"Put them in a cell."_ Sabine ordered two of the loyalists. They nodded and took care of the Jedi. _"Oh, and strip them of their weapons."_ she added. A loyalist came over and took their sabers. Once the loyalists and Jedi disappeared from them, Sabine and Tristan headed in themselves, going up to their quarters.

Sabine and Tristan slept in separate quarters away from one another. Sabine's was distinguishable due to its colorful nature. She sighed as she got in, taking off her armor and helmet and throwing on a t shirt and shorts, crawling into bed. She stared at the ceiling, thinking.

Sabine was looked down upon by many Mandalorians, even her own brother from time to time. It's not typical that you find a Mandalorian who prefers doing art over fighting a useless war. Though she doesn't hesitate to fight when it comes to it, Sabine never wanted part of this war to begin with. She wants honor restored to Mandalore the way it has been before all of this, honor restored to her clan. She just wanted to live the life of a Mandalorian artist, but got dragged in with her brother. Even the Empire looks down upon her for her personality, but the only reason why they kept her employed was because she was lethal and skilled, and she rarely failed a mission. To this day, after being a mercenary of the Sith Empire for several years, the 18 year old questions where everything lies in this with her. Sighing, she turned on her side and let drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Interrogation**

 **Ezra's P.O.V**

I groaned as I opened my eyes slowly, feeling numb from being tazed by that Mando during our fight. I opened my eyes fully, and I started looking around. I was in a room, and when I tried moving, it turned out that my hands were tied above my head. I tried to get free, grunting as I tried heavily to break myself out of here, but got nowhere. I looked down, and saw that my Jedi robes and shirt had been removed. The only thing on was my pants and boots.

 _"Nice to see that you are awake."_ a voice said. I recognized that voice. I looked over to my left and saw the pink Mando from the space station, her face concealed by her helmet. I felt rage build up in me from seeing her again.

"You!" I yelled. "Where am I and how long was I out for?"

"We're on the surface of Balmorra. My brother and I took you two in and now... we're going to enjoy having you with us. For a man that's been out for only 24 hours, Jedi, you sure seemed like you put up a good fight yesterday."

"Torture me all you want, I ain't talking. Where's Kanan?"

"Oh, him?" I nodded. "My brother and him are... meeting for the first time." Through the door we heard screams, and those screams were Kanan's! God, what the hell was he doing to him?

"What are you doing to him?" I demanded.

"Nothing."

"Lies." I retorted. "Why did you take us in instead of killing us on the dot, Rainbow Mando?" The Mandalorian didn't like that, and she delivered two hard punches to my face before pulling out a knife and sliding it down my body. I winced at the pain before I screamed, panting once the knife was removed. My face was swelling from those punches and the ones she delivered yesterday.

"Call me that one more time, and I will kill you right here and now." she warned me.

"Okay, fine. Now can you answer me?"

"We were told by our Sith employers to take you two in, thinking that we could get info out of you, info about Republic operations on this world. And if you refuse to talk, they told us to make your deaths slow so that you could feel it all."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"You should be. A lot of your brothers and sisters have fallen at the hands of us. In fact, I would get pure pleasure out of killing you right now."

"And I'd get pure pleasure out of you removing your helmet so that way I can end our rivalry where it began and see the look on your face."

"The look of your face will be more satisfying to me." She pulled out a tazer from her gauntlet. I knew that there was no escaping it, preparing for the worst. She bludgeoned it into my stomach, and it sent a sharp pain into my stomach, my body never forgetting the feeling of what happened yesterday in orbit during our fight. I screamed as my back arched and I threw my head back. The pain increased and I screamed even more, until the Mando stopped it. I breathed heavily. "There's plenty more where that came from." She delivered a hard punch to my stomach.

"I'm not... intimidated by you." I retorted, breathing heavily and spitting at her visor.

"I had this thing cleaned yesterday you know." she said, slowly wiping off the spit and before kicking me square in the face. The impact was so strong that I could have sworn that I felt blood come out of my mouth. I coughed before facing her, looking into her eyes through her visor.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

 **Third Person P.O.V**

The situation was no different for Kanan. Like Ezra, he was also being tortured, the other Mandalorian exercising extreme torture methods on the Jedi. Some of them ranged from just simply punching him in the face or kicking him to stabbing him in his bare stomach, leaving the knife in for a minute or two, to flat out using his flamethrower on the Jedi, giving him burns on his face and body. Despite all of this pain, Kanan still refused to give his interrogator info.

"I am not going to ask you again, Jedi!" the Mandalorian yelled, using his flamethrower and burning the left side of Kanan's face, enduring even more pain to the Jedi. Kanan screamed as a result, begging all of this to stop. "What's that? I couldn't here you over the sound of you not giving me what I want, Jedi." the Mando remarked before activating his flamethrower again, only this time setting the heat to its almost highest setting as he put it to Kanan's face again, the Jedi letting out what felt like an ear piercing shriek. "Where are the Republic operations being carried out in this sector?!" the Mandalorian demanded, Kanan yelling. He stopping applying flames, Kanan groaning and coughing, one half of his face suffering what appeared to be a third degree burn.

"I...am not willing to give you anything, Mando." Kanan responded, even though he knew what would happen, even if it meant that over giving the Mando what he wanted and having the Empire take care of crucial Republic ops on Balmorra.

Enraged, he took out his pistol and aimed it at Kanan's chest. Kanan closed his eyes and bowed his head, preparing for the worst to happen. He pulled the trigger, a blast going into Kanan's chest. Kanan groaned and then the Mando shot him another time, then another, until all that was there was a man who gave out after being brutally shot three times in the chest, the scorch marks on his shirtless chest showing that.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

 **Ezra's P.O.V**

I felt the force signature of Kanan all of a sudden just leave him. I knew what had happened, letting out a loud scream in rage. "You will pay for taking my master!" I screamed. The pink Mando laughed under her helmet.

"So, you know what happened?" she said.

"I will make sure to hunt you and your brother down by the time I'm free." I retorted, which made her punch me again in the face repeatedly before tazing me again.

"I'm afraid that won't happen." She raised her pistol to my head. "Say hi to your master for me."

"Even if you kill me, what's that gonna solve? The war will still go on and more of my Jedi brothers and sisters will most likely go after you once word of his death spreads, and mine." The pistol was cocked.

"I'll be sure to give them your regards." She squeezed the trigger slowly, but then something happened. I felt... hesitation in her. She wouldn't hesitate to kill a Jedi, just like all Mandalorians, but this time this was different. As much as she tried, she somehow just couldn't kill me. Why? I sensed that she was under pressure and then she holstered her pistol. "I'll deal with you later." she said before she stepped out, closing the door. As for me, I think I just found a way to release myself, grunting as I tried to get free, wincing at the pain from earlier.

* * *

 **Outside the cells**

 **Third Person P.O.V**

Sabine was breathing heavily under her helmet. Why, why didn't she just kill him? What stopped her from doing so? This was not normal, and she's never had a moment like this. Sure she has spared some enemies, but never a Jedi. Out of all the other times, she wouldn't hesitate to kill a Jedi, yet with him, this was entirely different. Why didn't she take the shot? Why, just why? Sabine had so many questions.

Tristan came out of his cell, meeting her. _"What's the status of the younger one?"_ he asked in his native tongue. Sabine was now really under pressure. She didn't know how to respond. She could say that this Jedi wasn't talking, which was true, but then again she would have had to kill him anyway. Or she could tell the truth, but then who knew what was going to happen next. _"Well?"_ Tristan asked, taking off his helmet. He had dark brown hair and light brown eyes.

 _"Well..."_ Sabine said, now even under more pressure than before. Tristan could tell that something was going on with his sister.

 _"Sabine, answer me please."_

 _"He wasn't talking."_ she finally answered.

 _"And? What happened next?"_ Sabine was silent. _"Sabine, are you okay?"_

 _"Yeah, heh heh. Everything's good."_ No it wasn't. Tristan wasn't having any of this.

 _"Sabine, just tell me what happened to the Jedi."_

 _"I told him I'd deal with him later."_

 _"Sabine, would you care to explain how you are going to tell that to Lord Jadus? He gave us orders to kill them if they didn't talk on the spot."_

 _"But, Tristan, I was going to torture him more and..."_

 _"Actually, judging from your voice and how there was something unusual going on with you, it seemed like it was less of that and more like sparing him. Why? Why in the name of Mandalore did you spare the bane of any Mandalorian? Huh?"_

 _"Tristan, it's not what it seems like."_ Sabine knew that this was going nowhere.

 _"You know what? Tell that to Lord Jadus. Never have I been this disappointed in you since the times that you were more of an artist when we were training in our youth to be warriors, to be REAL Mandalorians."_ Tristan slipped on his helmet and walked away.

Sabine never thought this would happen. Her own brother, completely disapointed in her more than ever? Never has she felt more disgust aimed at her. Sabine was hurt that she could have sworn that she felt a tear or two coming from her eye. "No, Mando'ads don't cry." she tried telling herself, but it wasn't enough. Her brother was one of the few people Sabine had left in her family, and now it felt like he completely just turned his back on her. Never will she forget the disgusted look on his face, a look that has glued to her like pieces of paper with various art projects she did in her spare time, only this time the "project" wasn't as vibrant as the young Mandalorian liked it.

Sabine was brought out of her thoughts when alarms went off throughout the base, an imperial Mandalorian loyalist running downstairs. _"Wren!" he called to her. "The Republic are going to bombard this area!"_

 _"What's the plan?"_ she responded.

 _"Evacuate all personnel."_

 _"What about the prisoners?"_

 _"Forget them, Wren, let's go!"_ The Mandalorian ran upstairs.

The Jedi. That's the only thing that came to her mind. She spared him, and now she made herself look bad to her heritage and the Empire as a whole. She tried to brush it off. "No. Forget him, he's going to die anyway." Sabine told herself, heading towards the stairs, but then stopped. "Why won't you get out of my head?" she said to no one in particular. She didn't understand. Jedi are like machines with telekinesis and laser swords, that's the only huge thing she's learned about them from Day One. But if she's killed dozens of them within her long run as a mercenary for the Empire, why didn't she kill him? It didn't matter at this point. She had to leave now, yet part of her wanted to go back, more like _needed_ to go back. Why? Why did this situation have to be the way the way it was going for Sabine Wren?

"Rainbow Mando!" a familiar voice called to her. Sabine's eyes widened under her helmet. It was the Jedi! How did he break free? Sabine brushed off all those thoughts about sparing him, now preparing to finally take him out of the picture. That will definitely help. Turning around, she met his gaze. Despite the torture he went through earlier, he looked like he was ready to take it to her as well.

"Don't call me that, you Jedi scum!" she retorted.

"You know, we still have unfinished business." He got in a fighting stance. Sabine also got herself in a fighting stance.

"If I'm going to go down with this camp, I'm taking you down with me."

"Nice to see that you got yourself some fight left in you. Now let's finish this."

"You will have a Jedi funeral once I'm done with you." Sabine pulled out her cortosis blade. "That I can promise you."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Absolutely Impossible**

 **Ezra's P.O.V**

This Mandalorian was looking to end me once and for all, but I while I did want to get back at her due to her having part in Kanan's death, I had better places to be at this point. I force pushed her, her body going back into the stairs before I pulled her towards me, stepping out of the way as her body went past me. "Don't think you're so lucky, boy!" the Mando said, releasing that same lasso she used on me back on the space station. She tied my body and then pulled me towards her. Having if I didn't have the Force on my side I would have been done for by her sword, ducking beneath her swing and then kicking her right in her groin.

Her sword was dropped in the process. I broke myself free and then back flipped away from her, calling her sword to me with the Force. Until I was able to get my lightsaber back, that is if I'm able to get it back, I had to make due with this weapon. "Nice move, kid. Too bad that it won't save you." Suddenly, my eyes widened as two red, short lightsabers emerged from her wrist gauntlets, quickly hacking and slashing at me. Having if this simple blade wasn't made out of a lightsaber withstanding material, I didn't know what I'd do, but I've been taught to never rely solely on a weapon. I quickly blocked her attacks, striking at her shoulder when there was an opening. She groaned in pain, and then a poof of orange and pink smoke appeared. I may have lost sight of her, but my senses were telling me that she was around here somewhere.

"Goodbye, Jedi!" I heard her voice before blaster shots were fired at me. The Force told me just in time to dodge them, using the it to dash to the side, out of the way. The Mando was making a run for it, heading up the stairs. I chased after her, double timing it. Suddenly, the ground and building shook as I found myself clinging onto a wall. Then the ground shook again, and then again. It looked like a bombardment had begun. I had to get out of here asap, even if it meant making sure this Mando was left behind.

I finally made it to the top, seeing that the Mando was almost at the exit. The ground shook again, and then the building shook harder with it. I clang onto the wall again, and that time I felt pain in my stomach from the cut left on my body earlier from her. "Leaving so soon?" I called to her, pulling her back with the Force and then making a last ditch effort to get out of this building before I went down with it. I was literally at the exit when I felt my shoulder being grabbed onto by the Mando, being yanked back. She was about to stomp my face before I swept my leg and took her down, getting on top of her and removing her helmet, throwing it at her face before I threw another punch. However, it was more like was about to throw another punch.

Her face... something about it somehow turned me on. How? She had tan skin, beautiful chocolate brown eyes, and her hair was cut short and dyed blue with shades of green on the edges. This was one vibrant Mando. Most likely it'll be the only one I'll ever meet that's like that. However, myself being distracted by her looks was a mistake, as the Mando flipped me over, her hands over mine on her sword. Both of us were on the ground, fighting for control over it, the point of the sword pointing right into my eye.

Suddenly, an explosion went off not far from us, and then another. The bombardment was getting closer. The Mando then looked into my eyes, pure anger in hers before she punched me hard in the face, and then everything went black.

* * *

 **Sabine's P.O.V**

There was no point anymore about this Jedi. I knocked him out, and he will go down with the bombardment and the prison. I had to get to Tristan as soon as possible and get off this planet. Raising my left wrist to my mouth before I grabbed my helmet and slipped it on, I contacted him, making my way outside as I did so. _"Tristan, come in! Where are you?"_ There was static on the other end. _"Tristan?"_ Static again. "Please don't tell me..." I said to myself. _"Tristan, please respond!"_ Finally, it looked like he came through.

 _"*static* Sabine *static* all personnel have been evac *static* -jured due to the explosions. I am under debris and... and... it looks like I'm not gonna make it. *static* -ever you do, Sabine, you must *static*"_ As the last bit of static came through, a huge explosion sounded off, and off in the distance, racing towards me was the bombardment. My brother was gone at this point, but the Jedi was going to be gone as well. However, I was going to be gone as well. The explosion was racing toward me in the distance. A ship was still here, but I was going to be taken down in the explosion with it due to how fast it was coming at me. My mind was racing as I finally decided to do the impossible.

Equipping my pistol, I held it to my chin, slipping the barrel underneath the crack of my helmet. I was extremely hesitant on doing this, but I didn't want to die a brutal death. Ironic considering that I'm the one who killed her enemies in brutal ways. _"Mando'ad draar digu aliit._ (A Mandalorian never forgets family)"I said to myself before I steadily squeezed the trigger, closing my eyes as the explosion neared me. This was the end of Sabine Wren.

Or so I thought.

I opened my eyes when I felt a force on my blaster. It was the Jedi! What was he doing? He my blaster threw my blaster on the ground and then looked back at the explosion, the look on his face expressing fear. I thought Jedi never had fear. In fact, I thought Jedi never had that many emotions for that matter. No, there was no way he was doing what I thought he was doing. If this was what it was, there was no telling how my clan and my faction would react to such an act, let alone his. I stood there shocked, until the next words that escaped his lips snapped me out of my shocked trance.

"Run! Run now, run like you've never ran before!"

Now he was seriously pushing the boundaries, but I didn't object to what he was telling me. Never had I imagined that this would be the day that history took a bit of a different turn. Turning around, me and the Jedi began sprinting back to the building, doing exactly what he told me. There was only one place that was able to keep us safe. The underground, which was where Tristan and I interrogated both of them. Running back into the building, I took charge of getting us underground.

"Head down to where we interrogated you two! That'll keep us safe!" I yelled over the sound of the explosion traveling.

"Are you crazy?! You're gonna torture me again, aren't you?!"

"Ugh, just trust me on this!" I felt such a huge tremor in my mind. There was absolutely no way that this was really happening. There was absolutely no way that I told him to trust me, trust his enemy.

He didn't say a word and we sprinted downstairs, the fireball of the explosion making its way towards us. "Come on, move!" he told me. I sprinted downstairs with him, the entrance to the cells just two flights down, the fireball hot on our tail. "Keep running! Don't look back!" he ordered, myself picking up the pace even more than I thought possible. The entrance was dead ahead, the fireball getting more and more closer to us. I was unprepared for the next thing that happened.

I got tackled to the ground by the Jedi. My instinct was telling me to fight back, but when he said his next words, I didn't fight back. "Keep your head down!" Planting his body on top of mine, we both felt the immense heat that was rushing towards us. My head was down on the ground, closing my eyes as part of me felt like death was gonna take us, but part of me tried to deny it, let alone try to deny the fact that this Jedi was actually saving me! A scream was the next thing that escaped his mouth, followed by the slamming of a door, and then more screaming. This continued for about a minute as the Jedi was grunting at this point, until, I felt his body relax slightly, but not by a whole lot.

I felt his body get off me, both of us panting. I was extremely stunned, confused, yet thankful. I tried so hard to comprehend what just happened. I can't believe that I'm still alive, and it's because of him. Breathing heavily as I removed my helmet, my face sweaty underneath, I looked at my savior, perplexed. There's no telling how both of our factions would feel about this since it happened. I wanted to thank him, more like had to thank him, but my mind was telling me to kill him now while he was exhausted. As much as I tried to reach for my blaster and take him out, my face still expressing shock and confusion, I didn't reach for it. This was a much different situation than earlier, a situation where a Mandalorian's greatest enemy just saved my life. When these next few words escaped my trembling lips, never have I thought that this was the person that I'd be thanking.

"You-you-y-you... you saved my life. Thank you, thank you so much!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Aftermath**

 **Ezra's P.O.V**

I can't believe it. Not only did I save my own enemy from death, but I just did what no Jedi in the galaxy would think about doing. I don't why I chose to save her, but part of me felt like I did only because it's what Jedi do, or for some other reason. My head was spinning as my body was still numb from the running and everything earlier. So many things were going through my mind, and that Mandalorian just thanked me for saving her. Looking at her, getting up on one knee as I hugged the wall with one hand, I hesitated on what were the next words gonna be, even if it lead to something... more.

"I did. I did save you." I said, looking into her eyes. "You are welcome." I never thought I'd say those words to my Mandalorian foe. She was still breathing somewhat heavily but eased a bit. "Breathe, you're save now." I still couldn't believe that I was actually saying all these things to a Mando, ONE THAT I ACTUALLY SAVED FROM DEATH! She slowly took deep breaths and then she was breathing normally, getting up against the wall as she sat against. I did the same thing, both of us looking down at the ground, still taking in everything that went down.

"Why did you save me?" she asked. I lifted my head and met her gaze.

"What?" I asked.

"I said why did you save me?" she asked again. I didn't know how to respond to that, thinking carefully of my next words.

"Because it was the right thing to do."

"To save your enemy?"

"It was a tough choice but death was going to take us both unless one of us reacted. I reacted, and we're both still alive, because of me. I never thought I'd be saving you honestly out of all people, Mando." I was actually talking to her! What the heck are you doing to yourself, Ezra?! Part of me yelled out to stop, while the other part of me told me to keep talking to her. Even a conversation between a Jedi and Mando would definitely be throwned upon by both sides. God knows how both our sides feel after the whole stunt I pulled back there.

"I never thought I'd be saved by my own enemy, Jedi." she replied. We were silent for a while. It was getting cold down here as well and the only thing I had on was my pants and boots. I hugged myself for warmth, but it wasn't enough.

"Are there any spare clothes in here or somewhere where you put my robes?" I asked.

"I stripped you of your robes sometime after you got in. I could go get them if you'd like."

"Can you walk though?" She tried getting up, grunting as she struggled to. My guess: her body suffered a lot of pressure and numbness from earlier. Though my body was still kinda numb from earlier, I decided that it was time to help her again. Getting up, I walked up to her. "I can help you get up if you need it." I told her. She grunted in response, forcing herself to get up.

"I got it, Jedi." she replied, limping, grunting and groaning at the pain as she limped.

"Mando, are you sure, you don't look like you could walk well." I called down the hall.

"I'm all right. I got this. Besides, I've been through worse." she said before she disappeared out of the corner. My body still numb and myself feeling a pain in my legs, I groaned, sitting back carefully against the wall on the ground. I shivered from the cold. Down the hall, a shadow appeared, followed by footsteps. It was only her once I saw her figure, carrying what looked like my robes and a long sleeved undershirt. She put them down for me and then sat back down against the wall, grunting at the numbness.

"Thank you." I said. From what I was able to tell through the Force, the Mando was shocked, shocked that I was the one thanking her.

"You're welcome." she responded after a while. "I didn't know what size you were, but hopefully this fits." I put on the shirt. It was just about my size, maybe a bit larger. I put on my orange robes after that, stretching my legs out, myself starting to become tired.

"Are there any beds in this place?" I asked.

"In the cells there are some." the Mando responded. We both got up and she picked up her helmet before we started walking down the hall. I entered the first cell I saw and there was a bed right there. It had sheets but no blanket. I could tell the Mando was going to ask me if I wanted a blanket, so I spoke first before she did.

"I'll be fine without a blanket." I told her, even though part of me felt like that wasn't going to be the case.

"Are you sure?" she responded.

"I am sure." I replied, stretching out on the bed, sighing as my head was finally in the pillow.

"Thank you once again for saving my life, Jedi." the Mando said before she exited the cell and started heading the other way. I looked at her figure before she disappeared, turning on my side and closing my eyes. It was cold in bed, and even some of the clothes I had on didn't help. However, I then felt something draped over me. It was warm, and soft. I could tell that it was a blanket. The Mandalorian definitely gave it to me, I could tell.

While part of me still felt skeptical about trusting my own enemy, she did get me clothes and bring me a blanket. Yet, I'm the one who decided to save her. And as a result, we'll both be getting through this together, two enemies forcing each other to trust each other. I wasn't a huge fan of this, neither was the Mando most likely, but she definitely was thankful towards me for what I did earlier. I still had so many thoughts about everything that occurred today, and the day before.

 _"Sabine."_ I heard the Mando say. I groaned as I opened my eyes and faced the cell door.

"What?" I said, groggily.

"My name is Sabine." And now came the part where I introduced myself.

"I'm Ezra." I replied groggily before I was out cold. Sabine was out cold as well from the sound of her collapsing on her bed across from my cell. Guess both of us were playing prisoner tonight.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: An Unlikely Alliance**

 **Ezra's P.O.V**

The next morning came. I groaned as I opened my eyes, sitting up in the bed and rubbing my forehead. Everything that occurred the previous day happened so quickly that my mind was still glued to it; rescuing Sabine. Part of me inside was still telling me to not trust her and to take her out, but the other part of me still told me to trust her on this. At this point, it was only us by the looks of things, so if were gonna get off this planet then I had to work with her. I sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing my eyes. Today was another day, another day with her.

"Morning." I looked to the door across the hall and saw that Sabine was up as well.

"Morning." I replied, casually.

"You were out all right." she said.

"So were you." I responded, getting up on my feet.

"Take this." she said as she tossed me something. I saw that it was a ration bar. "You're probably hungry after everything." Can't believe she was giving me something in return for everything.

"Thanks." I said simply, opening my bar and taking a bite out of it, leaning against the wall. Sabine was doing the same thing, crossing her arms. We both were silent.

"So." she spoke up.

"So?" I replied.

"Is your Republic looking for you?" Sabine asked. I asked the same thing about her Sith employers or Mandos. "I don't know honestly. Thank Manda that they are, even though most of them think I died in the bombardment, with my brother." I heard a bit of a sniffle coming from her, as well as saw a small tear coming from her right eye. Was she crying? I thought Mandalorians never cry. I remember that the first thing I was told, along with the other younglings, about them was that they were warriors who never showed any emotion whatsoever, like people who never had a soul and only cared about the fight practically. But this, this was the first time ever that I saw one cry. And then came a small weep that escaped her. I knew I was going to regret the next thing I was going to do.

I walked across over to Sabine's cell and put a hand on her shoulder. She jolted from the sudden touch of her enemy, preparing to almost hit me until she didn't, sobbing. I kept my hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry about your brother." I said. I could have sworn that I felt my stomach tighten from what I said, as there was no way that I gave my own enemy my own sympathy. Sabine was a bit shocked from what I said, judging from her emotions thanks to the Force.

"Thank you." she said. "And I'm sorry about your master." Now I was the one shocked. "Though my brother may be dead, I offer you his sorrow and my sorrow for your master's death." I was in even more shock. My own enemy? Apologizing? This was getting more and more shocking by the seconds. I remained silent. "You may not accept my apology, but I accept yours, and I can understand that you're probably just as shocked as I am. Believe me, I am too." And here she was, talking to me again. This time not as an enemy, but as one who sympathized with my loss just as I was with her loss. However, there were better things to discuss, myself changing the topic.

"We have to leave this place as soon as possible. Is there, one, transport we could use that is still operational? And two, is there somewhere we could go for extraction?" I had a feeling that I shouldn't have said that last part, considering that I highly doubt that the Republic is coming for me. Like with Sabine and her brother, the Republic and Jedi think I died with Kanan.

"Well, that's gonna be a bit hard since most of the transport most likely got destroyed during the bombardment. That, and the nearest settlement is like a three day's walk or so." Sabine answered.

"Then we'd better get going ASAP. But before we go, I can't go anywhere without my saber if you still have it."

"Hang on." Sabine walked out of her cell and turned right. I followed her down the hall until she came up on a locker. Punching in a pass code, it opened and we went in. "We keep most prisoner's weapons in here. Your lightsaber is on that table." she said, pointing to it. Beside it, I saw Kanan's. A tear escaped my eye when I grabbed mine and then looked at Kanan's. The only fatherly figure in my life that I had was gone, and I felt like I was alone until that day he found me.

I was only four and alone on Lothal. I used to be an orphan who stole stuff just to survive until Kanan found me. He took me in and I was thankful ever since, but now it felt like I was alone again. However, the only person I had at this point, for now, was Sabine, and I had to trust her. I took Kanan's saber, equipping it to my belt on the left side and then equipped mine on the right side.

"Thanks, Sabine." I said.

"Let's go." she said. I followed her back the way we came, the Mando going into the cell she was in earlier and putting on her helmet. She gestured for me to follow her with her head, and we had to pry the door open due to the events from yesterday. Once we did, we saw that the entire camp on top of us was destroyed. And there was a gap between us and the surface. However, I knew I'd be able to make it easily thanks to my abilities, but Sabine may not have been able to. "I got it." she said, using her jetpack to fly up to the surface. "Come on."

"I got it." I responded, force jumping and doing a front flip in the air until I landed next to her. Without a word we walked away from the destroyed camp, heading out into the openness that was Balmorra. Exactly half an hour passed, and nothing happened. Suddenly, the sound of a ship approaching echoed throughout the sky. An imperial Eclipse Interceptor flew overhead. Looks like we were about to have company.

The ship landed in front of us. "Friends of yours?" I asked.

"Let's just say... they might want to have a word with me." Sabine said with a tiny, tiny hint of nervousness in her voice. Something told me that these were probably the Sith employers that hired those Mandalorian mercs. Two figured exited the ship, both looking like Sith Lords. One wore a mask that concealed the face of the male figure, the other wore a dark cloak draped over her shoulders. I could tell that the other figure was a female from the stature. The male was the first to speak.

"Wren, I am impressed to see that you survived the bombardment. I was looking to having a personal word with you." he said underneath his mask. "Where is your brother, first of all?"

"He did not make it." Sabine quickly responded.

"A shame. He would have put you in your place as well, for he had informed me of a little mishap that happened. To my understanding, Lord Jadus told me that you two were ordered, by him personally, to take in two Jedi and kill them if neither of them gave up info that was valuable to our forces. To my understanding, he dispatched one of them, while one remains." He eyed me underneath his mask when he said that. I equipped my saber, about to ignite it when a flick of the Sith's hand froze me in place. His apprentice pulled our her red lightsaber, igniting it and was about to strike me until he stopped her. "No. Leave him be, for now." The apprentice, disappointed with what her master was going with, obeyed, keeping her saber steady. "Tell me, Wren. Why did you not kill THIS Jedi?" Sabine was silent. "I asked you a question, and you shall answer it. Why did you not kill this Jedi? Hmm?"

"I-I-I..." Sabine stuttered.

"You what?" the Sith asked, impatiently.

"I wasn't able to."

"Any why was that?"

"Because...because..."

"I don't want to here it. I could tell that you spared him, but you don't want to tell me that, do you?"

"It's not what you think..." The Sith started force choking her, the Mandalorian gasping for air as she started grasping her throat.

"You think that you could get away with something like that, don't you? Not today. Yotuo, kill them both."

"Yes, master." She positioned her saber towards Sabine. I had to do something, and do something I did.

With a grunt, I performed a quick slash, catching the apprentice off guard, in a blade lock. I sensed Sabine pulled out her cortosis blade and she and the Sith Lord were engaged in combat.

I kicked the apprentice in the stomach, herself stumbling back as her cloak dropped, revealing herself. The apprentice was a red twi'lek, with yellow Sith eyes and black striped tattoos going down her lekku. She grunted as she came at me with hard blows, myself blocking each of them and then striking her at her shoulder where it was open. Enraged, she force pushed me back. I went flying back into the ship, my body crashing hard into the side of it, causing a huge dent. I fell down to the ground, groaning. I'm even surprised I didn't break anything from the huge impact. "What's the matter, Jedi? Too in pain?" Yotuo questioned, a smirk on her face as she made her way towards me, twirling her lightsaber around. I groaned before I "responded," by pushing her back with the force. The twi'lek went flying back and I got up, igniting my saber.

Like earlier, she came at me with hard blows, and that was when I noticed something. Clearly she wasn't playing smart, which meant that she was leaving herself open just enough. She engaged me in a lock, both of us grunting as we struggled to get advantage over the other. Finally, the opening presented itself.

With a quick flick of my blade, I slashed both her legs. The twi'lek let out a cry and moan of pain, her lightsaber falling out of her hands. I delivered a hard kick to her face, and then another, and then another, to the point where blood was pouring out of her mouth. She moaned and groaned in pain, and then I kicked her one last time. "And stay down." I said as I started heading over to Sabine, who looked like she (surprisingly) stood her ground against the Sith. Just as I headed over to her, I sensed the apprentice try to make a move, preparing myself for her attack, only for the force signature to suddenly fade away by the sound of a blaster shot. I heard the sound of her body drop to the ground, and saw the smoke at the end of the barrel of Sabine's pistol. She lowered it, giving me a firm nod. However, this confrontation wasn't over.

"Look out!" I yelled, using the Force to send the Sith flying back when he tried to take her out. He was on his back as his body slid against the ground, myself picking him up and slamming him down over and over again. I pulled him to me with the Force, and then bludgeoned my lightsaber into his stomach. He let out a gasp before he completely lost the life in him. Deactivating my saber, he fell down to the floor. An unlikely alliance just triumphed.

"Thank you." Sabine said.

"No, thank you." I replied.

"For what?" she asked.

"For saving my life." I answered.

"And thank you once again, for saving mine." She holstered her pistols.

"So what now?" I asked.

"Well, there is a ship here. Thinking what I'm thinking?"

"We could use it to get off this planet." We both headed for the entrance ramp. "After you." Sabine nodded and went ahead of me. I followed her into the cockpit. "Know how to fly this thing?" I asked.

"You?" Sabine responded.

"Nope."

"In that case, I'll fly this thing." she said, sitting in the pilot's seat and taking off her helmet.

"Are you sure this thing will fly despite the dent?"

"Hopefully it does."


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys. Sorry for the lack of updates, school has gotten busier due to exams coming up, not to mention myself preparing for my birthday, which is this Sunday. I'll try my best to keep updates coming. Anyway, enjoy the next chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Breaking the Ice**

 **Ezra's P.O.V**

Sabine tried starting the ship up, only for the reactors to power up slightly before completely powering down. She tried again, but got nothing, grunting in anger. "What is it?" I asked. She turned her head towards the screen displaying the ship's status.

"Seems like when you went flying, the impact also hit the ship's main reactor. Unfortunately, we are stuck here." she answered.

"We could try fixing it." I suggested. Sabine got up and I followed. We went outside the cockpit to the reactor room, beginning to fix the main reactor.

 **Two hours later**

Two hours of hard work repairing the reactor, and we were done. We wiped the sweat off our foreheads at the same time. This alliance between us is thriving more and more. "Thanks, Jedi." Sabine said, both of us heading back to the cockpit. She sat in the pilot's seat, I sat next to her.

"No problem, Sabine." I replied, breathing a tiny bit heavily. We were silent for a moment.

"Ezra, I dunno about you, but I could use a bit of a break before we get off Balmorra."

"I could say the same thing. I mean it doesn't take much energy to pilot the thing, but still, I get it." I replied, Sabine rolling her eyes. We were silent again, sitting here just the two of us. None of us said a word, until Sabine spoke up again.

"Question." I looked up at her, meeting her gaze. "What's it like to be a Jedi?" She was asking me a question, trying to converse with me. To me, it seemed like she was starting to trust me, and both of us getting to know each other would be a great way for us to build up our trust.

"They're the only family I know." I answered. Sabine cocked an eyebrow at that.

"What do you mean by you're only family?"

"As in, I barely knew my biological family." Sabine opened her mouth, about to say something until I continued. "You see, most of us are taken in by them at a really young age. I was four when Kanan found me, and he took me into the order and I got trained by him. He was the only father figure I knew."

"Why would they take you from real family?"

"To train us in the ways of the Force, at least that's what we've all been told."

"I can relate."

"How?"

"I was only 15 when the Empire recruited me and my brother as mercs. But unlike you with not knowing your family, I knew my family, my clan. My clan was in a feud with another clan, and since the enemy clan had the Empire's backing at the time, the only way for me to help them out was to become a merc with my brother and work for the Empire, and our clan would be fine. Or so we were told. We returned home one day to our homestead, only to discover bodies and Mandalorian helmets." A tear escaped her eye, and then another. "They killed my father! My mother! My uncle! My cousins! Everyone!" Her crying intensified, until she buried her face in her hands. I've never seen real emotion expressed in a Mandalorian, and I couldn't believe that I felt sorry for her, but I was. I put a hand on her shoulder, and she looked at me.

"I'm sorry for your losses." Sabine's crying turned to sobs.

"Thank you." she said.

"What happened afterwards?"

"My brother and I were on our own. Our only line of work, the Empire. We've been working for them for 3 years. And honestly, I wanted to stop working for them after a while, but I couldn't because my brother and I needed the credits." She sighed. "I didn't want part of this conflict to begin with." That sentence spoke to me.

"I didn't want to be in this conflict either, but the Republic needed us." Sabine got a hold of herself from earlier, sitting all the way back in her chair.

"Why didn't you?"

"I didn't want to go out there, and worry about every day being my last stand against the darkness. But as a Jedi, the galaxy comes first, and it's hard. Why didn't you want to be involved?"

"I just wanted to live the life of an artist. I like painting, but I guess the lesson learned from all of this is that sometimes your passion stands in the way of the greater good, and look what happened to that 'greater good.'"

Sabine and I seemed to share a lot of similar things. From this conversation we had, it turned out that even your enemy may just be a person on the wrong side of the war, who didn't want part in anything. Our trust is getting bigger and bigger already. She continued.

"I've liked art since I was a child. But then when the Empire employed me, they stripped me of my art supplies because I used to mark my clan insignia on places that my brother and I hit on our missions. The Empire didn't like that, and they took them away, and having if I hadn't proven myself, the probably would have taken my armor."

"Just saying this right now, you're probably the most vibrant Mando out there."

"But that's also the thing with me. I've become somewhat of an outcast in Mandalorian society because of my colorful persona. My clan looked down upon me from time to time, my brother did, my childhood friend did as well, and that's just because of the fact that I'm just... different from all of them. It's not like there are many Mandalorian artists in the entire galaxy, in fact there's barely any at all."

"Why look down upon you for your own differences? Differences is what makes people more interesting and more distinguishable."

"I don't know. It's just a cultural thing I guess." Sabine sighed. "Ezra." I made eye contact with her. "Thanks, for understanding me." Those four words spoke to me, and I felt a smile curving on my lips. I smiled for the first time at my enemy. She smiled back, and then there was some kind of warmth that just hit me in my chest.

I didn't know how to describe it. It just... happened, and the warmth increased, and my smile became bigger. Her smile became bigger as well. "Sabine, you're welcome." She reached out her hand as her smile became slightly more bigger, and I reached out mine. When our hands grabbed the other in our palms, this was the day where two enemies officially trusted each other. But, my instinct told me that it could be false, and that I had to see for myself if this was true.

"Nobody understood me honestly. You're just one of the very few people that do, and it speaks to me."

"We seem to have a lot in common, and that also says something." We were silent again for a moment, until I popped the question. "Sabine, do you trust me?" She seemed shocked at the question from what the Force was telling me, but then she answered.

"Ezra, I do."

"Thank you, for trusting me." She smiled and then yawned.

"I dunno about you, but I am tired."

"As am I." I recline my seat all the way, laying down. Sabine also did the same thing. "You got rid of the tracker, right?" I asked.

"Yeah." Sabine answered.

"So we get off tomorrow?"

"That's the plan." I adjusted myself and turned on my side, closing my eyes. "Goodnight, Ezra."

"Goodnight, Sabine."

At that moment, me and my new friend were off, the warmth in my chest still burning bright. Who knew what was to come from our little alliance?

A lot more than both our factions ever thought possible, that's for sure.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Battle Above Balmorra**

 **Ezra's P.O.V**

The next morning came. I was the first one to wake up, yawning and rubbing my eyes. I looked over to my left and saw that Sabine was getting up as well, yawning. "Morning." she said.

"Morning." I replied. "So, today's the day, huh?"

"Duh." she said with an eye roll, putting her seat upright. I did the same thing with mine. Sabine started the ship up, systems coming online. Without a word, she hit a few buttons and then pulled up to lift off. We were off the ground and then Sabine took us towards the atmosphere. However, the question hit me.

"Wait." I said. "Where would we go though?"

"Well, we're both gonna be practically on the run from both sides. Even if we try to go to your republic, the first thing they'll do is draw their weapons on me, and then if we go to Mandalorian territory or imperial territory, the same thing's gonna happen with you. So, I'm out of ideas." Sabine replied.

"You do trust me though. I trust you as well." I said.

"Like that's gonna get us anywhere. In fact, it may make us look like fugitives to both sides." We got up into space at that moment, everything looking calm, for now at least. Suddenly, an imperial fleet dropped out of hyperspace with a Republic fleet following. "Kriff." Sabine said. "Guess I got the 'both sides' part right." Shots began being exchanged between both sides, and fighter squadrons were deployed. Explosions and ships from both sides firing from one another lit up the dark space above Balmorra. Suddenly, shots were being fired at us, by the Republic! "Hope you have some ideas, Ezra, because I ain't gonna risk us getting killed by your Republic!" Sabine barrel rolled and increased the thrust on the engines, the fighter coming in hot behind us.

I had to do something, even if it meant risking both of us. I had to contact the Republic fleet.

Reacting quickly, I reached for the hologram panel on the navi computer and set it to a Republic frequency. "What are you doing?" Sabine asked as she kept on dodging the fire coming from the Republic fighter. In a flash, alarms blared throughout our ship.

"We have missiles incoming!" I told her.

"Hang on!" Sabine sped up more and then shot us straight up, and then we were in a nose dive, a Republic frigate down below us.

"Sabine, ya better pull up!" I yelled, hanging on for dear life. She pulled up hard and then the alarm went off, followed by a boom from the frigate. The missile went into it, blowing it up. My new friend just killed dozens of Republic lives with that maneuver, and as much as I wanted to go off for killing those from my own side, I remembered that I couldn't just break the trust between us.

Going back to the hologram, the Republic frequency set, I tried to contact the nearest ship. "Don't be mad, but hopefully this works." I said, praying this plan works. The hologram of a Republic admiral came online.

 _"Commander Bridger?"_ he said in shock. _"We thought you were dead."_ Luckily, he didn't _seem_ to have Sabine in view.

"Look, no time to explain!" I shot back quickly. "Listen, do not shoot the Sith fighter! I am in a stolen Sith fighter and I require assistance. Repeat, do not engage the Sith fighter, admiral!"

 _"Which fighter? There are dozens of them for crying out loud!"_ the admiral responded.

"Ezra, what the kriff are you doing?!" Sabine asked angrily, not wanting to get caught with me.

"Trust me on this." I sternly told her. She was silent for a bit.

 _"Commander Bridger, which fighter are you in? Please respond."_ the admiral ordered, bringing me back to reality.

"Admiral, I'm trying to send a signal." I responded, trying to send a signal to the admiral's ship. The signal got transmitted, and now all we had to do was just wait for a response.

 _"Commander Bridger, you are on our radars. Bring your ship in to dock."_ A part of me was gonna regret that last part. Sabine looked at me, her eyes alone telling me to not do this. I sighed.

"Sabine, we have to." I simply said, a huge explosion bringing our attention to the view of the battle again. An imperial capital ship got taken down, tilting down towards the atmosphere. Another Republic vessel soon met the same fate, along with dozens of fighters getting blown up, one after another.

 _"Commander Bridger, respond if you can hear me. Bring your ship in to dock. How copy?"_ the admiral asked. Just as I was about to respond, the ship shook when a blast hit it.

"Acknowledged but I'm being shot at! Requesting aid!" I responded quickly.

"Ezra, get on the top gun! I can't take this guys on alone." Sabine ordered.

"Get to the Republic and avoid us being clipped by those imperials." I responded. Sabine nodded and I headed out of the cockpit, climbed my way to the top gun and booted the turret up. I immediately got to work, taking down any incoming fighters. Hopefully the Republic fleet is aware of us in the fighter.

* * *

 **Sabine's P.O.V**

The aprehension was intense. The Republic ship was dead ahead and already we had tons of fighters on us. However, by the looks of things, the Republic fighters weren't attacking us, so that was good, for now. Another blast shook the ship, the systems display flashing. Damage was at 58%. "Ezra, keep them off us! We're almost there!" Another missile warning blared, myself barrel rolling the ship. I dodged the missile.

"Sabine, how much longer?" Ezra called out.

"Almost there! Just a little bit longer!" I replied. Suddenly, two blasts hit our ship, and not only were they from the Republic, but our ship's systems were critical. But then something else happened.

Ezra wasn't firing.

"Ezra, keep firing back!" I ordered. No shots were fired, and Ezra wasn't responding. "Ezra?" I called out. No response. I called his names numerous times. Something definitely wasn't right. He'd probably run back in if anything, but he didn't. I had to check on him, even if it meant risking our ship. Putting the ship on autopilot, I dashed over to the top gun. I climbed the ladder up, only to see Ezra slumped over, as well as hearing several electrical sounds. That only meant one thing.

One of the blasts hit the top gun, with Ezra being caught up in it. I panicked in fear. I had to do something. "What the kriff am I supposed to do?!" I ranted to myself, reacting without thinking. There was only one solution, and it meant going into the Republic ship, even if it meant compromising the both of us; a Jedi working with his own enemy and a Mandalorian for working with her own.

"I don't leave my _friends_ behind." I said to no one in particular, feeling my stomach tighten when I put a strong emphasis on "friends." I headed back to the cockpit, trying to give this hunk of junk everything it got with the entrance into the hangar approaching.

 _"Commander Bridger, are you there?"_ a voice came through, the same one that responded to Ezra. I turned over towards the hologram, my presence known. I can't believe that I'm communicating with Republic personnel, all for the greater good of someone else. _"Who are you and where is Commander Bridger?"_ the man demanded.

"Commander Bridger is unconscious but I think his condition could be worse. I need medical personnel to..." A violent blast shook the ship, and then the heat started building up. I put on my helmet to prevent the inhalation of smoke, and then next thing I knew, we were coming in hot, crashing down into the hangar. Everything went black upon impact.

* * *

 **Third Person P.O.V**

Republic medics and fire personnel rushed towards the burning ship that crashed into the hangar. Fire crews put out the flames quickly, prying the entrance open and trying to look for anyone on board. It didn't take them long to discover the bodies of an alliance unaware to them.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: An Old Friend**

 **Ezra's P.O.V**

Three beeps were the only things that sounded off. It took me a while to open my eyes. I was looking at the ceiling, before turning my head and scanning the environment. It looked like I was in some kind of med bay, with medical droids operating in here along with a few human doctors. Looks like I was on the Republic ship that the admiral told me to go to. I coughed, which caught the attention of one of the doctors. "Breathe, breathe. You're alive." he said.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"You're on the Republic battleship 'Galactica.' You crashed into our hangar, we recovered you. You were very lucky, son. You were almost as good as dead." the doctor informed me.

"Did I suffer any injuries?" I asked.

"You suffered a head injury, and until that's resolved we wrapped bandages at the top of your head. Other than that, nothing major." he answered.

"Where is she?" I asked the doctor.

"Who?"

"Sabine, the Mando." He simply pointed to a hospital bed on my right. I turned my head and saw her figure. She was on her back, and it looked like she also got injured as well. "How is she, doc?"

"She's been knocked out pretty badly. Although we're not certain, she may be induced into a coma. The chances of that may be low, but it might happen."

"Will she be okay?" The doctor looked at me suspiciously a bit when I said that, but nevertheless answered.

"We have our eyes on her. You should probably get some rest. We also have some meds for you next to you. Take those once in the morning and once in the evening. They should help out with your injury."

"Thanks, doc."

Without another word, the doctor left, and then I took the meds like he said. But then a feeling kicked in. These may have been the kinds of meds that made you feel tired once you take them. I was out cold before anything else could happen.

* * *

 **The next day**

 **Sabine's P.O.V**

I woke up to the feeling of something soft behind my head, groaning as I opened my eyes, feeling my head ache from something. I sat up in the bed, examining where I was. It didn't take me long to realize that I was in the med bay on that Republic ship that Ezra told me to fly to. I rubbed my head as I continued looking around. It was dark in the room, but I could definitely see a figure next to me in the darkness, moving up down as he took breathes in and out. My instincts told me that it was Ezra.

I put him in danger with what happened earlier, and now we both ended up here. Because of me and him. "I'm sorry." I muttered as I looked at him. Out of nowhere, a light was switched on and for a second I thought we had company until it just turned out to be a human doctor, with somebody following him.

The guy following was a male human. He had a light skintone, dark brown hair in a relatively short cut and eyes of the same color. He was muscular and he wore a Republic trooper uniform with gray and white plating, and a gray pauldron on his right shoulder. I was suspicious of this guy.

The doctor told him something as he gestured towards the hospital beds and then the trooper nodded, proceeding towards us. He looked at me a bit suspiciously before he made his way over to Ezra. He still was laying there, not responding when it looked like the trooper was talking to him. I turned on my side and observed. "He's out you know." I told the trooper. He turned around to face me.

"I can see that, Mando." he responded, turning back to Ezra. By the looks of things, I think they knew each other. Was this trooper willing to trust me though if Ezra talked him into trusting me.

"Do you know each other?" I asked the trooper.

"He's my friend. I suppose you know him also." he replied. Guess I was right about them going back. Still, who was this guy?

"I do." The guy chuckled.

"Funny, because it's not often that you see a Jedi friends with a Mandalorian. How did you two become friends without one of you killing the other?"

"Well, it wasn't easy exactly, trooper." I heard movement on Ezra's bed and he woke up. He faced the trooper.

"Ezra!" the trooper said excitingly. The two of them hugged. "I thought you were dead."

"Guess I'm not. It's nice to see you too, Alex." They broke the hug and then Ezra looked at me. "Look who's finally up. I guess they didn't induce you into a coma." I rolled my eyes at that.

"Ha ha, very funny. It's good to see you still breathing, Ezra."

"Okay, this is seriously weird how you two 'enemies' are actually friends here and now." the trooper, whose name I guess was Alex, said in shock.

"What are you doing in the med bay though?" Ezra asked him.

"When I heard reports of a crashed ship in the hangar, I didn't think much of whoever it was that was on board. But then when I found out that it was you, I was surprised to say the least. I'm so happy that you're alive, old friend." Alex answered.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It's been gosh knows how long. The last time we saw each other was practically during the battle of Alderaan, wasn't it?"

"Guys, I wouldn't mind hearing your 'war stories,' but how do you know we could trust him, Ezra?"

"I should ask you the same question, Mando." Alex responded. "You're just lucky that the Republic don't have their suspicions yet about you allying yourself with a Jedi."

"And you're just lucky that I don't feel like myself because otherwise I'd kick your sorry behind." I retorted.

"Okay, guys, this is getting us nowhere." Ezra intervened, trying to stop this argument from becoming a match of fisticuffs.

"Ezra's right. Sorry about that." Alex apologized.

"It's alright. I'm Sabine by the way." I introduced myself.

"Alex, as you might have heard." He came up to shake my hand and at first I was hesitant on shaking the hand of my friend's friend, but then I shook it.

"So, how do you two know each other?" I asked.

"When the war began, I was a Jedi commander. Alex was just a recruit when we met, but then he quickly climbed the ranks and became a captain. My master and I were assigned to lead the squad Alex was in, and then as time went by, we started becoming friends." Ezra explained.

"And we're also from the same planet." Alex added.

"What planet are you guys from?" I asked.

"Lothal." both answered simultaneously.

"So, this the first time you're meeting each other again, right?" I asked. Both of them nodded.

"The last time we saw each other was when the Sith Empire sacked Alderaan." Alex explained. "I was in Havoc Squad with Jace Malcom. This came exactly one day after I got promoted to captain. Ezra was there with me, along with Satele Shan, another Jedi, and his master Kanan." After hearing what he had to say so far, I knew that I was in for one heck of a look into both their past. "The Empire almost had entire control of the planet, and we had to do something fast. Our only option was to counter attack them. We placed charges around the forest, and then when the time came, we showed the Empire what we were made of. Me, Ezra, Kanan, and everyone else made sure that we teared those imperial dogs to shreds. Everything was going well with the counter offensive, until my encounter with the Sith Lord leading them. Ezra and Kanan engaged him. Kanan got kicked and almost got killed, and I had to go help my friend out. Next thing I knew, the Sith and I were face to face, and he put the saber into my stomach when I tried fighting him. Of course the Jedi took care of him, but Ezra wasn't willing to leave me. I told him to let me go, but he helped me anyway. We tried to get through the enemy line of defense as Ezra was trying to get me through, only for me to get shot in chest by a trooper, and then next thing I knew I was dead so to speak."

"Sounds like you two have been through a lot." I responded after hearing Alex's story. "I'm sorry about you guys."

It seemed like Ezra and I have lost a lot of people in this conflict. Through this story alone, I began understanding Ezra felt after the supposed death of Alex, something that we have in common due to our common losses of friends and family. I never thought that I could understand my new Jedi friend more and more just from hearing his own friend talk about going through that experience.

"Thanks." Alex said.

"What happened to you, Ezra, after all of this?" I asked.

"I felt like I was alone after I lost my best friend. In fact, I almost turned to the dark side at one point because of anger and grief. But, thanks to Kanan, I moved on and accepted Alex's death. But now that you're here again, what happened to you?" Ezra asked.

"When they found out I survived, I kept my rank and got moved to another division. I sat out for a couple of months, but then when I was eligible for combat, I didn't hesitate to get back out there." Alex answered. "I still kept on thinking that you were dead, that you died with me and the others who fought with us."

"Same here. I'm glad to see you again, old friend." The boys brought it in. It was good to see them reunited, a feeling that, however, plagued me as it reminded me of family, the family and friends I lost just because of this war alone. The door slid open with a doctor entering.

"Captain, you are needed." the doctor informed him.

"It was nice seeing you, Ezra." Alex said. The two smiled before they hugged one another one last time, before he left him. He turned to me on his way out. "Sabine, thank you for looking out for him." I smiled in return.

"You're welcome, Alex."

"Bye now." Alex responded before he exited the med bay. I lay on my back and looked up at the ceiling afterwords.

"Your friend's something." I said.

"Alex is quite the friend, Sabine." Ezra responded. We faced each other from our beds. "Do you think he trusts you?"

"Do you?"

"Maybe from what he just said on the way out. How ya feeling?"

"Weird. Probably because I got up after being knocked out for a while. Why do you have a bandage on your head?"

"The doc told me I had an injury. That reminds me." Ezra reached over to his side and was about to take some meds.

"Need some water?" I asked.

"That would be lovely." Ezra replied. I gave him a slight eye roll before getting up. My legs were tired as heck as I tried to get up, but finally after I took my first three steps, I walked over to the sink no problem. I guess that's what happens to you when you're knocked out. I found a cup next to the sink. I turned it on and poured some water, shut it off, and then walked over to Ezra. I handed him the cup. "Thanks, Sabine."

"Anytime." I said. He sipped the meds and then lay back.

"At least I didn't fall asleep this time when I took these." I chuckled.

"Did you?" I asked with a bit of a sly smile.

"Yes. But I guess I was tired since god knows how long we were out for." he responded.

"I'm surprised we even lived through the crash."

"Sabine, you gotta admit, in a short span of the time we've known each other for, we have definitely accomplished a lot."

"We did. I guess it's kinda cool to see the results that you get when you take two enemy factions and have one of them save each other from death." He chuckled a bit, and so did I. We were actually laughing for the first time! Our friendship keeps getting more interesting.

"I'm surprised that I had the guts to save you and that you had the guts to just let me help you."

"Thanks once again for that, Ezra." We smiled at each other again, and then a feeling of warmth just hit me.

I dunno why, but there was just something about Ezra that just made me... suddenly want him. His eyes are so bright and they're so great to look at, and so are his features. My mind was practically telling me, "No! Don't do it! This Jedi is nothing more but your own enemy! Ugh, why did you spare him?!" I'm still not sure why I spared him. Ugh, I just want him suddenly!

What the heck am I doing to myself after befriending a Jedi?


End file.
